Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-density server including a plurality of server modules with redundant power sources.
The present application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-165749 filed Jul. 26, 2012, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, high-density servers are each designed to include a plurality of server enclosures, each enclosing a plurality of server modules. Specifically, high-density servers are each designed to include a server rack accommodating a plurality of enclosure insertion/extraction parts which are vertically combined together. A plurality of server enclosures is individually put into enclosure insertion/extraction parts installed in a server rack such that server enclosures can be freely inserted into or pulled out from enclosure insertion/extraction parts. A plurality of server enclosures is cast into an enclosure frame accommodating a plurality of front insertion/extraction parts which are arranged vertically and horizontally. A plurality of server modules is individually put into a plurality of front insertion/extraction parts, arranged inside an enclosure frame, such that server modules can be freely inserted into or pulled out from front insertion/extraction parts. Each server module may include a CPU and/or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) unit.
As described above, a high-density server may install a plurality of server modules therein, thus implementing parallel processing and complex computation with a plurality of server modules. Each server module needs electrical power which inevitably causes high heat during computation. For this reason, a high-density server requires a power source unit and cooling fans in server enclosures.
Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 4 disclose a motherboard having compatibility with various types of universal serial buses (USB), which includes a connector connected to a host controller interface and a serial bus unit coupled with a host controller. Patent Literature 2 discloses an insertion-type module computer in which a module computer is connected to a rear connector attached to a flat-panel monitor including various connectors conventionally installed in a motherboard. Patent Literature 3 discloses an electronic circuit board with extended function or communication function (e.g. a communication daughter card) which is detachably attached to a motherboard of a computer system. Patent Literature 5 discloses an industrial computer chassis structure with a centrally-disposed power source, which is partitioned into a plurality of motherboard sections each of which allows a motherboard to be pulled therein or drawn therefrom.
Additionally, Non-Patent Literature 1 discloses a scalable computing system accommodating a plurality of server insertion/extraction parts in a specially-designed chassis. Non-Patent Literature 2 discloses a rack-mountable barebones configuration of a server system offering scalable computation. Non-Patent Literature 3 (i.e. a Japanese webpage) discloses a rack server with a rack chassis offering a high density of servers and reducing power consumption. Non-Patent Literature 4 is an English-language webpage corresponding to Non-Patent Literature 3.
Non-Patent Literature 1 teaches an example of a server layout in which a power source unit and cooling fans are arranged in a rear opening formed at a rear portion of a server enclosure. Herein, it is necessary to arrange external interfaces, such as an I/O port, a LAN connector, or a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot, as well as a HDD unit and an operation panel in the front face of a server module. This allows users to easily access a HDD unit and an operation panel on the front face of a server enclosure, collectively aggregating external wires which can be freely connected to or disconnected from external interfaces.
Non-Patent Literature 2 teaches a high-density server including a plurality of server modules each of which is equipped with a power source unit and a cooling fan. This technology allows a power source unit and a cooling fan to be arranged in the center area of each server module. Thus, it is possible to arrange an HDD unit and an operation panel on the front face of each server module while arranging external interfaces (e.g. an I/O port, an LAN connector, and a PCI slot) on the rear side of each server module.
Non-Patent Literatures 3 and 4 disclose a high-density server in which a plurality of cooling fans is aligned inside of each server enclosure, wherein an HDD unit and an operation panel are arranged on the front side of each server module while a server module is arranged in the rear side of each server module. Thus, it is possible to arrange an HDD unit and an operation panel on the front side of each server module while arranging external interfaces (e.g. an I/O port, a LAN connector, and a PCI slot) on the rear side of each server module.
As described above, conventional high-density servers allow users to easily access HDD units and operation panels in the front side while arranging external wires, detachably connected to external interfaces, in the rear side. However, they may involve drawbacks and disadvantages as follows.
The technology of Non-Patent Literature 1, which arranges a power source unit and a cooling fan in the rear opening of each server enclosure while arranging external interfaces on the front face of each server module, needs to collectively aggregate external wires connected to external interfaces on the front face of each server module. External wires connected to external interfaces may cause a mess in the front face of each server module because they may physically block users from accessing HDD units and operational panels.
The technology of Non-Patent Literature 2, which arranges an HDD unit and a cooling fan in the center area of each server module, needs to install pairs of power source units and cooling fans in connection with a plurality of server modules therein. This may unnecessarily reduce the effective area of each server module. Additionally, it is impossible to share a large-sized power source unit and large-sized cooling fans with a plurality of server modules.
The technology of Non-Patent Literature 3, in which a plurality of cooling fans is aligned inside each server enclosure and in which an HDD unit and an operation panel are arranged in the front side while a server module is arranged in the rear side, may involve a difficulty of inserting a server module into or removing a server module from each server enclosure in excess of an advantage of a user's easy access to an HDD unit and an operation panel on the front side of each server enclosure.